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Radio Shack and the early days of the PC (pictures)

In 1977, Lewis Kornfeld, former president of the Radio Shack Division of Tandy Corporation, named Radio Shack’s first computer the “TRS-80″ — the Tandy Radio Shack computer with the Zilog Z80 microprocessor.

Kornfeld, who died Friday at the age of 97 in Fort Worth, Texas, recognized the future potential of the personal computer and saw a unique opportunity to make Radio Shack a manufacturing name as well as a successful retailer.

Behind the mass distribution ability built in to the Radio Shack network of 3,000 stores, the TRS-80 was the early leader in a personal computing market that was virtually uncontested at the time.

The original “TRS-80 Micro Computer System,” which was launched in 1977 and later known as the Model I, was one of the earliest mass-produced and low-cost personal computers.